• 2024.10.17
• Local FoodSights

I felt good luck and romance! Special exhibition "Fire the Arrow! ~10,000 Years of Bows and Arrows in the Kanto Region~" Storyteller Sakurako Kanda experiences the Ota City Local Museum

What kind of image do you have of bows and arrows?

Bows and arrows have a mystical quality that is different from swords, and they appear a lot in anime, games, fantasy movies, etc. In the world of anime and game fans, the category of "archer characters" has been established.
We don't have many opportunities to see a bow and arrow up close, but if you think back to the first shrine visit of the year, you may have held a hamaya arrow. The bow and arrow are a somewhat mysterious item that seems like a weapon from a faraway world, yet is also familiar to us.

Special exhibition "Fire an Arrow! ~10,000 Years of Bows and Arrows in the Kanto Region~" is being held at the Ota City Museum of Local History

This time, I accompanied storyteller Sakurako Kanda to the special exhibition "Fire an Arrow! - 2 Years of Bows and Arrows in the Kanto Region," which is being held on the second floor of the Ota City Museum in Minami Magome, Ota Ward. We got to see some real bows and arrows. After the tour, Sakurako smiled in front of the souvenir tenugui towel. She said, "I feel like my luck is improving!"

The KABURAYA depicted on the hand towel is an arrow with a whistle attached to the tip. It was used as a signal to start a battle. It has since come to be considered a lucky charm for starting something new.

So, this is where Sakurako's report begins!

Sakurako Kanda Profile

Member of the Japan Kodan Association and the Rakugo Art Association
Likes: Glasses, nails, manga, anime, movies

Experience
December 2015: Became a disciple of Yoko Kanda as "Sakurako"
May 2020: Promoted to Nitsume

Sakurako Kanda (hereafter referred to as Sakurako)Hello, I am Sakurako Kanda, a storyteller. I just read a story called "Ogi no Mato" the other day (in storytelling, the act of presenting is called "reading"). "Ogi no Mato" is a famous passage from the Tale of the Heike, in which the master Nasu no Yoichi shoots an arrow at a fan. I reproduce this scene in beautiful words.

Sakurako:People in the past romantically described the curve of the bow as "just like a full moon moving through the sky." The moon gives a sense of tranquility. I love the beautiful scene of the moment the arrow is shot through the fan. In fact, the arrow that was shot was a kabura-ya. In storytelling, even the sound of the arrow flying is read as mystical.

What kind of arrows are on display? Let's take a look.

*Photography is prohibited inside the building, with some exceptions. We received special permission to take photos this time.

The route guide is a cute illustration of a character shooting an arrow. In fact, this is an original character drawn by the director of the local museum! There are other characters hidden here and there in the museum, so be sure to look for them when you visit.

This exhibition allows visitors to follow the flow of time from the Jomon period to the present day. We were given a special tour by the museum curator, Aya Saito!

(On the left is the curator, Aya Saito, and on the right is the interviewer, Sakurako)

Aya Saito (hereinafter referred to as Saito):Bows and arrows have a long history spanning over 10,000 years. They first appeared around the beginning of the Jomon period, and are thought to have been invented as a tool suitable for hunting small animals. From the Yayoi period onwards, they developed into weapons. They also served as a tool symbolizing military might, and there are many beautifully decorated bows and arrows, as well as many stories surrounding them.

The beautiful stone arrowheads are astonishing, like jewelry.

When I entered the exhibition room on the second floor, there were rows of brightly lit display cases, just like a jewelry store! The first thing that caught my eye were the countless stone arrowheads.

Saito:Generally, only the stone arrowhead remains of ancient bows and arrows. The wooden or bamboo handle rots away. So, this is the only part we can see with our eyes.

Sakurako:They come in a variety of beautiful colors and shapes. But it must be hard to make them by hand. Did people back then pick up the arrows and reuse them?

Saito:I think some of them have been retrieved by the people who set them off, but some seem to have just been left lying around. These stone arrowheads are often unearthed in unusual places, such as empty fields or hilltops, rather than in the remains of dwellings.

Sakurako:It takes time to make it, so it would be a waste to just throw it away!

There are said to be Jomon period settlement ruins accompanied by shell mounds around Kaizukazaka on the way from Nishi-Magome to Hatanodai.

The fascinating thing about this item is that only the tip of the arrow remains!

The next display case had arrowheads with even more elaborate designs. They are thought to date back to the early Kofun period. They are made of bronze, an alloy of copper and tin. As technology has advanced over time, the shapes have changed as well.

Sakurako:As expected, only the arrowheads made of iron and copper are on display. Only the tips remain. So it seems like you can freely talk about the "parts that are no longer there," such as "Maybe the person who saw it was like this?" or "Maybe there was a person like this."

Saito:I think that's probably what's so appealing about arrows.

Discover the original source of the tenugui illustration!

The next striking exhibit we came across was an iron arrowhead (karimatazoku, an arrowhead with a forked tip). It has a different shape to the typical image of an arrow. It has the same shape as the illustration on the souvenir tenugui towel that Sakurako praised at the beginning of the exhibition, saying, "It makes me feel like my luck is improving!"

Saito:In the time of Nasu no Yoichi (the Tale of the Heike), arrows shot at the start of battles generally had this shape. Also, bows used in ceremonies sometimes had characters engraved on them.

Sakurako:However, the goal is not just to shoot (stab) a distant target.

Some arrows are designed to make a sound that wards off evil.

As we continue along the path through the exhibition room, we see that the exhibits have progressed in time and there are more and more exhibits made from wood and bamboo. They are larger and have more elaborate lacquer finishes and handles. I found an interesting-shaped arrow made in the Edo period. It was a hikime (a hollow wooden cylindrical object with several holes on the surface, pointed at both ends). This is also a type of arrow, but it cannot pierce the target.

Saito:This is what is known as a narikabura (a whistling device). When the whistle flies, air comes out of the holes in the whistle, making a loud whooshing noise.

It is said that the sound made by the frog eyes drives away evil and purifies the area, which is why this shape is still used today in hamaya arrows and yabusame arrows.

Come to think of it, there was a certain anime character who was good at a long-distance attack called "Narukabura," which shoots out shock waves of Haki. I wonder if this is the origin of it...

Modern arrows have strong meanings as good luck charms and talismans.

Saito:During the Sengoku period, the role of archery as a weapon was replaced by firearms, but it has survived to the present day in the form of archery as a martial art and as a demonstration in Shinto rituals.

According to Saito, arrows are still an integral part of Japanese life today, as they are used as good luck charms and talismans, such as the hamaya arrows that are used at first shrine visits of the year.

In 60, after the 51th Shikinen Sengu ceremony, the sacred treasures of Ise Jingu, the Mikushige, Ondarashi, and Mitate, were specially removed to Nitta Shrine. The Mikushige and Ondarashi were on display at the local museum. Sakurako was left speechless by their vivid colors and beauty...!! The moment she saw them, she was entranced.

By the way, Nitta Shrine in Yaguchi, Ota Ward, is also the setting for the popular story "Shinrei Yaguchi no Watashi" (Divine Spirit Yaguchi Crossing), which features a "Suihahyoha arrow" that shoots down a transforming monster. At the suggestion of the Dutch scholar Hiraga Gennai, the Nitta family began selling "arrow charms" with a black strip of paper with a single character on it, which is said to have made it the "originator of arrow charm hamaya"!
If you are interested, please take a trip to Nitta Shrine (about 30 minutes by bus and on foot).

Nitta Shrine

Address: 1-21-23 Yaguchi, Ota-ku, Tokyo
Telephone number: 03-3758-1397
Official website:https://nittajinja.org/index.html

After the tour, we asked Sakurako to reflect on what she found fascinating about the place.

Sakurako:The exhibits are filled with the curators' love! I think the curators have created the exhibits based on an image of the lifestyles and beliefs of people who lived in that era. When I heard that "there are many excavated items that have caused debate among experts about their interpretation," I thought... "Bows and arrows are full of romance." I think it's fun to look at the exhibits while imagining them in your head.

Saito:Those who come to the special exhibition "Fire an Arrow! ~10,000 Years of Bows and Arrows in Kanto~" may be able to ward off evil spirits and improve their luck...!? It was such a satisfying and heart-warming experience that it almost felt that way.

It was Sakurako's first time seeing an arrow up close. At the start of the interview, she quietly listened to the explanation, but as we proceeded along the route, it was clear to see her excitement rising. Gradually, her questions began to flow in rapid succession...

So, have you become interested in arrows? Perhaps the special exhibition "Fire an Arrow! ~10,000 Years of Bows and Arrows in the Kanto Region~" will be the perfect place to visit.

Special Exhibition "Fire the Arrow! ~10,000 Years of Bows and Arrows in the Kanto Region~"

Period: Tuesday, October 6th, 2024 to Sunday, December 10st, 8
[Special exhibition admission fee]
General (residents and students in the ward: 300 yen; non-residents: 500 yen)
Junior high school students and younger (residents and students in the ward: 100 yen; non-residents: 200 yen)
Free for preschool children, people 65 and over, and people with disabilities (one accompanying person)
・Please bring your ID
・Payment method is cash only.
(Note 1) Every Saturday, holiday, and national holiday, children (junior high school students and younger) are admitted free of charge (please present proof of age).

Main exhibits:
The "Paper and Colored Engi Picture of Nitta Daimyojin Shrine" is a designated cultural property of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. It is a valuable picture scroll depicting a battle between archers and horsemen during the Nanboku-cho period, and will be on display for the first time at a museum in Tokyo after being restored.

Colored paper depicting the origins of Nitta Daimyojin Shrine (part of the lower volume) / Edo period / Nitta Shrine Collection Image provided by Handa Kyuseido Co., Ltd.

A Jomon period stone arrowhead made from obsidian / Oya-Shitaya ruins, Ota-ku, Tokyo / Jomon period / Owned by Ota City Folk Museum Image provided by Ota City Folk Museum

Black lacquer decorative bow / Okido ruins, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture / Jomon period / Saitama Prefectural Board of Education Image provided by Ota City Local Museum

Iron arrowhead (goose-legged arrowhead) / Tamagawadai No. 1 Tomb, Ota Ward, Tokyo / Kofun period / Courtesy of Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum Image provided by Ota City Local History Museum

The catalogue is scheduled to go on sale from mid-November 6.

What is the Ota City Folk Museum?

Ota City Museum of Local History is a humanities museum centered in Ota City, and preserves and exhibits materials related to archeology, history, and folklore. Admission is free. The special exhibition "Fire the Arrow! ~ 27 Years of Bows and Arrows in the Kanto Region ~" is held on the second floor (there is a fee for the special exhibition). The permanent exhibition on the third floor displays the works of Kawase Hasui, a printmaker who spent about XNUMX years of his career in the Ota area.

Exhibition of works by print artist Kawase Hasui
*The exhibits in the photo are from the time of the interview (mid-October 2024). The artworks are replaced regularly, so some of the exhibits may be different at present.

Opening hours: 9:5am to XNUMX:XNUMXpm
Closed: Mondays (However, the museum will be open on holidays and national holidays, and will not be closed on those days)
Address: 143-0025 Minami Magome 11-chome, Ota-ku, 13-7 XNUMX minutes walk from Nishi Magome Station on the Toei Subway Asakusa Line
TEL: 03-3777-1070 (Representative)
https://www.city.ota.tokyo.jp/seikatsu/manabu/hakubutsukan/index.html

A soba restaurant with a kind proprietress, "Soba Kobo Hatano"

After immersing yourself in Japanese history, enjoy a Japanese lunch at Soba Kobo Hatano, located a 5-6 minute walk from the local museum.
The shiny handmade soba noodles, made with carefully selected stone-ground ingredients, are smooth and delicious! The bowl was generously presented, but I finished it in no time, enjoying the aroma of the soba that wafted through my nose.

(Pictured is "Cold steamer + salted grilled mackerel set")
The lunch set includes a choice of cold or hot soba noodles + grilled salted mackerel or a small tempura bowl (with rice, salad, and pickles) for just 1000 yen, making it an excellent value for money option! (As of October 2024)

Buckwheat Factory Hatano

Address: 5-30-9 Minami Magome, Ota-ku, Tokyo
Telephone number: 090-1501-5568
home page:http://www.soba-hatano.com/

Founded in 21! A long-established Japanese confectionery shop in Magome, "Okashitsukasa Watanabe"

After lunch, we went to "Okashitsukasa Watanabe" and bought a souvenir to take home, the famous "Magome Sansun Ninjin Manju", made with Magome Daita Sansun Ninjin, a local specialty of Ota Ward and one of the traditional Edo vegetables. This luxurious delicacy is a pleasant harmony of the sweetness of the carrots that spreads in your mouth and the soft and elegant sweetness of the white bean paste.

There are also a wide variety of other items on offer, such as "Magome Bunshi Mura Manju" named after the area, wild vegetable rice, and seasonal fresh sweets, so deciding which one to choose is part of the fun!

Watanabe Confectionery (Main store)

Address: 5-32-3 Minami Magome, Ota-ku, Tokyo
Telephone number: 03-3772-5082
home page:https://ota-mice-guide.jp/miyageweb/item/63/
Magome, which we introduced this time, is called "Maisen" together with Ikegami and Senzokuike, and is an area known as a scenic spot in Ota Ward since ancient times. If you visit Magome, why not also visit popular spots in Maisen, such as Senzokuike Park, an oasis in the city, and Ikegami Plum Garden, one of the most famous plum blossom spots in Tokyo?

Writer of this article: Kazuhiro Ishii
profile:
A PR planner certified by PRSJ, she has been involved in regional revitalization projects by the Japan Tourism Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and local governments, writing tourism promotion visions, etc. She has traveled all over the country for work related to tourism and women's soccer, and thinks that Kamata in Ota Ward and Yokokawa in Nishi Ward, Hiroshima City are very similar.

Supervision: Satomi Matsumoto/Jun Miyoshi